Old Friends
by Ocracoke0Island-Dreams
Summary: Writing prompt suggested by xaylan. It is finally the first day of winter in the town of Burgess, Virgina, and a few of the children hope to see an old family friend.
1. Prologue

**Prompt suggested by Xaylan on tumblr! Thank you very much; this one I had a lot of fun with! This is just the prologue.**

* * *

The sun was slowly rising in the early morning of December 21st, its bright rays bouncing off the freshly-fallen snow that covered the lawns and streets. Most of the people in the town of Burgess, Virginia were still sound asleep, but one household was already buzzing with life, the house of the Bennett family.

The clatter of three pairs of feet rattled through the upstairs hallway, sounding like a heard of wild elephants. Giggles and laughter followed and soon burst through the bedroom door as three children jumped up onto their parents' bed.

"Mom! Dad! Wake up! Winter is here!" Elizabeth, or Lizzy, an eight year-old girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes announced.

"The roads are completely covered! There is no way we have school!" Nicolas, a skinny, ten year-old boy with brown hair and blue eyes shouted.

"Snow day!" Jackson, a small, five year-old boy with light blond hair and big blue eyes yelled gleefully.

James opened his eyes slowly as his children continued to bounce up and down on his bed, looking past them to see the clock mounted on the wall. He inwardly groaned before sitting up and putting a weak smile on his face. He yawned.

"You guys, its only 6:00am. Can't you go back to bed for a bit? Mom and I will check the school closing listings for the notification."

The three children stopped jumped and shared a glance before turning back to their father.

"But Dad, you said we'd get to play in the snow as soon as it came!" Nicholas claimed.

"After you've all had your breakfast and gotten ready for the day.

Lizzy pouted. "No fair!"

James gave her a playful hard stare before ruffling her hair. "How about you guys go get dressed while I check the school closings. Mom," James nudged his wife a little, who had been awake simply smiling as she watched her husband try and persuade the kids back to bed, hoping to get her to back him up. "Will make some breakfast. How does that sound? Is that fair enough?"

Nicholas and Lizzy smiled and nodded before jumping off the bed, racing back to their bedrooms eagerly. Jackson remained however, looking at the window.

The window was covered in frost, and if one looked closely enough, could see all of the patterns and details intricately placed. The young boy turned to look at his father.

"Dad, do you think I'll get to see Jack Frost this year?"

James looked at his son, a little startled. He hadn't heard that name in a long time. He smiled a bit and patted his son on the head, causing Jackson to giggle.

"If you believe hard enough, I'm sure you will. Now, come on. Let's get you dressed and ready for the day."


	2. Snow Day

The entire Bennett family was dressed and downstairs in the kitchen. Marie was cooking breakfast, and the scent eggs and bacon filled the air. James opened his laptop at table and checked the local news website for school closings. Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson were clustered together along the eat-in kitchen countertop bar, eagerly discussing their plans for a fun day in the snow.

"We definitely need to have a snowball fight!" Lizzy exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.

"With snowforts!" Nicholas excited added, smiling from ear to ear.

"What 'bout goin' sled-ridin'?" Jackson asked looking up at his two older siblings.

"Of course we'll go sled-ridin'!" Lizzy assured her little brother before leaning in and putting her arms around her brothers. She pulled them closer into her.

"I bet we could go ice skatin', too. That lake out in the woods has to be frozen over by now." She whispered, smiling.

Nicholas bit his bottom lip. "I don't know, Mom and Dad say that's not safe."

Lizzy rolled her eyes a little. "Yeah, for them. We're a lot smaller than Mom and Dad, Nick. It'll be fun! Besides, what Mom and Dad don't know won't hurt 'em, will it?"

Nicholas narrowed his eyes a little and started to argue with his sister. Jackson continued to watch his siblings bicker before growing bored and calling out to his father.

"Dad, do we have a snow day or not?"

This got both Nicholas and Lizzy to stop their little quarrel and look to James, who looked up from the laptop with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Well, I'm sorry guys but," James started, and the kids' faces fell. Their father smirked before continuing.

"I'm sorry that you're stuck at home all day!"

Jackson smiled as his brother and sister high-fived and cheered. Marie then set down their plates in front of the kids and turned to her husband. She walked around the counter and leaned down to him, stopping when she had her arms wrapped around his neck comfortingly. She whispered into his ear.

"You have some extra vacation days, don't you? How about you stay home from work today? I'm sure the kids would love for you to be able to take them to the big hill."

It appeared that Lizzy had heard the suggestion and turned around to flash her father a big, puppy-dog pout. Nicholas and Jack did the same.

"Please Dad! Please, please, please!" The children began to plead and beg before their mother shot them all a look; they quickly returned to eating their food, but still kept an eye on their father.

"Come on Jamie, you know you'll enjoy it." Marie rested a hand on her husband's shoulder. "You might even get to see… an old friend."

This caused Jamie to smile a little before sighing playfully. "Alright, alright. I'll take the day off."

Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson all cheered. Marie smiled.

"I'll call the office to let them know you won't be in today."

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I can call; don't you need to get to work soon?"

His wife smiled again. "If you had looked at the school closings more closely, you'd have noticed that my school district is also closed. I do not have work today."

Jackson, who by now had finished his breakfast along with his siblings, looked up.

"You're stayin' home too? Yay!" He jumped off his chair and ran around the counter to his parents. He flashed a big, toothy grin at his mother "Are you gonna play out in the snow with us, Mom?"

"Perhaps, for a little while at least." Marie smiled down at her youngest son and had to laugh a little when he raced back around the counter and plopped onto the ground inside the mid room. He started to dig out his snow boots when he found everyone watching him.

"What are you guys waitin' for? Come on! Let's go!"

* * *

It took the Bennett family another twenty minutes to get everyone ready for a day in the snow; coats, boots, gloves, and all. Now they were all out in the winter wonderland that had appeared overnight.

Lizzy was making snow angels and trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue, Marie was helping Jackson create a snowman, and Jamie was making a snow fort with Nicholas. Soon other kids and families were outside, and snow ball fights began to break out.

Someone called out, "Girls versus boys!" and the children separated accordingly. Snow was sailing through the air every which way; there even seemed to be more snowballs flying than possible with the amount of children. Laughter and glee filled the entire town as teenagers and adults joined in on the fun.

Eventually the battle stopped, everyone agreeing on a "truce" for now. Many of the children headed inside for lunch at this time. The sun was high in the sky, and it was around noon. The temperature remained below freezing however, and the snow showed no signs of melting anytime soon.

Soon everybody returned, and sledding became the new favorite activity. Kids raced to the tops of hills, taking turns giving each other a boost as they flew down lawns and streets. Nicholas and Jackson shared a sled and raced their sister down the street. Their mother and father watched; making sure they were out of the way of traffic, not that there was much of any. It seemed as if everyone had simply stayed at home today to enjoy the first day of winter, and a feeling of happiness filled the cold air.

Eventually the teenagers and adults returned to their homes, and children began to grow tired of sledding. Many went back to snowball fights, and some started to make snowmen, snow angels and some made attempts at igloos as well. It was not around five o'clock, and the temperature was now starting to drop as the sun started to set. Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson were all playing in an igloo they had built when their parents walked up to them.

"Hey kidos, your mother and I are going to head back to the house. Make sure you get home by seven, alright?" Jamie told his children.

Lizzy poked her head out from inside the igloo and nodded. "Okay Dad!"

As their parents walked away, the little girl turned around to look at her siblings. She had a smile on her face.

"Now is our chance to go to the lake! Come on; let's ask some of the others to go with us!"

* * *

**I'm sorry the chapters for this might be a little shorter than I prefer, but I wrote it all as one long continuous section in my notebook and well this was the best way to divide it up. Chapter 2 is written; it just needs proof-read! I hope you're all enjoying it so far, please read and review. **


	3. Nightly Walk

Jamie and Marie -instead of going back to the house- had decided to go on a walk, following a trail in the snow-covered forest surrounding the town. It was starting to snow lightly, and the sunset created a beautiful hue shining off the snow. Jamie had his hand intertwined with his wife's and was looking around at the scenery when he sighed quietly. Marie looked at him.

"What is it, Jamie?"

Her husband simply shrugged his shoulders a little before turning to face her. "I had hoped to see Jack today. I thought he'd return to Burgess for the first day of winter like he did when I was a child; he would always play in the snow with us and whatnot. But today, and for the past few years actually, I haven't seen him. When Jackson mentioned him this morning, I had honestly… f-forgotten about him." He sighed, guilt flooding his mind. He knew how much Jack depended on him and his other strong believers to support him. Now Jamie realized that he had forgotten about him, and who knows how Jack could react to that.

"I, I just hope he's okay."

Marie put her free hand on her husband's shoulder. "Jamie, relax. You've got to remember, he is a guardian now. He's probably really busy with them and spreading winter across the northern hemisphere. Not to mention it is almost Christmas; North probably has him working overtime. And hey, who knows, he might stop by-"

"Later? I see you still have faith in me, Marie, unlike your husband here." A voice said jokingly. It came from no other than the winter spirit himself. Jack Frost had been sitting in a tree farther up along the path, and hopped down to the couple. He was smirking and Jamie rolled his eyes playfully before smiling at the immortal teen. He offered his hand out to Jack, and the spirit took it happily, though startled when he found himself pulled into a hug by his long-time friend. He laughed a bit before pulling back.

"So how have you two been? It's been quite some time since I saw you guys. Man you've gotten tall, Jamie. You're taller than me now. Oh, how are Nicholas and Liz? How old are the kidos now?"

Marie smiled a little. "Nicholas is ten, Lizzy is eight… and Jackson is five."

Jack now had a look of confusion on his face. "Jackson? You guys had another kid?" His eye widened slightly as another thought occurred to him. He glanced down for a second.

"Has is really been five years?" The winter spirit barely whispered.

Jamie nodded uncomfortably. "Yep, five years…"

Jack took a small step back and looked down at his feet, leaning on his staff. "I uh, I'm sorry I haven't… it's been so hard to keep track of everything nowadays and…"

Jamie cleared his throat. "Jack, it's okay. I understand; it's alright." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but the winter spirit shrugged it off.

"No, it's not…"

Jamie frowns slightly. "Jack, you're a guardian now. A lot of kids believe in you, and you're kept busy by bringing winter to all of them. Not to mention whatever tasks the other guardians give you. Me? I'm an adult now. There are other kids who need you." Jack looked down at his feet again, drawing in the snow with his staff.

"It's hard to grow up, but I got through it. Marie got through it. Eventually, my children will as well. You need to learn that I won't always be here. Perhaps… perhaps it's time for you to grow up too, Jack."

The winter spirit's head shot up suddenly, shocked by what Jamie had said. For a second, there was a look of hurt in his eyes. His expression then changed to one of anger, and it began to snow around the group.

"Grow up? I grew up three hundred years ago. I was on my own, no one could see me! I had to fight for myself, and I had no idea who I even was! What do you think I did during those first few years? Just sat around playing with kids who didn't enjoy snow? Back then, kids hardly played outside in the winter due to fear of becoming sick! So what did I do? I learned how to take care of myself! Tell me, how did I not grow up?!"

Jamie soon grew furious. Things he had always thought about but never said boiled up to the surface. "You don't take responsibility for the things you do! All the blizzards the snowstorms; Hell, Jack, you made the iceberg that sank the Titanic! Yes it was on accident and you did everything you could to help, but you still didn't admit to it until asked by the guardians! You need to learn not to let your emotions control your powers! You killed people that day-"

The wind picked up speed, and Marie shivered as the two men in front of her continued to argue.

Jack got up in Jamie's face, tears forming in his eyes. "Don't you think I know that?! I know how many people I killed! I tried to help them, but they couldn't see me! I watched as people jumped off the ship, dying in the freezing water! I've dealt with the guilt of what I did every day since it happened. I feel terrible after every blizzard and snowstorm and avalanches on the mountains and… p-people falling through ice…"

"All because of your temper-tantrums! You're just a big child!" Jamie was now yelling at the top of his lungs, leaning over Jack. The winter spirit now began to cower, backing up from who he used to think of as his closest friend.

"It's no wonder the guardians ignored you for three hundred years! In fact, I probably would have done the same!"

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but then shut it tightly. He backed further away from Jamie and Marie, tears threatening to roll down his face. He closed his eyes and looked away. He shifted his body towards Marie.

"I-It was n-nice seeing you, M-Marie… Tell J-Jackson I might s-see him around." The winter spirit then quickly spun on his heels, away from the couple and flew off, rustling the tree branches in his hurry.

Marie pulled her hand away from Jamie's and gave him a hard stare. He looked at her.

"What?"

She looked ready to slap him. "You know damn well what! How could you blow up at Jack like that? You've told me numerous times about how sensitive he is, and then you go and do that! I thought you were worried about him about five minutes ago."

Jamie's eyes narrowed at his wife. "Why are you siding with him? You remember the blizzard two years ago! You remember what happened!"

Marie now had tears in her eyes; the memories still burned her heart. "Of course I do! But for all we know that could have been a complete accident! Jack might have been protecting us!"

"What if he hadn't been? What is it was just some stupid fit he had?!" Jamie screamed.

"Then that is that! There is nothing we can do to change it! Jamie, Jack hasn't even seen us in five years! There was no way he could have meant to do what he might have caused! The last time he saw us is when Lizzy was three! He couldn't have known! We hadn't even planned for it yet!"

"It doesn't matter if he knew or not! It doesn't change the fact that we lost her! How are you not as upset as I am over this?!"

"Because I have forgiven Jack! It wasn't his fault!" Tears rolled down the woman's face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Quietly, she started again.

"Losing Katelyn… was the hardest thing I have had to deal with thus far in my life. And for a while, yes, I despised the winter and anything related to it including Jack for taking her away from me. She was only two years old. It was a freak accident. If it is anyone to blame, it is me for going out in the damn blizzard."

"But Jack caused the blizzard; he never stops to think what might happen when he does!" Jamie retorted.

Marie raised her voice again. "We do not know that he caused it just because he wanted to, Jamie!"

"Why are you defending him?!"

"Because it seems like nobody ever has before!" She pauses, looking away from Jamie for a minute. "He had no clue that I'd be out that night with Katelyn and Nicholas in the car."

"But-"

Marie cut him off. "Jamie, just listen to me. Jack is learning from his mistakes. Did you not see the look in his eyes when you mentioned the incident? He obviously has enormous guilt over that; same with the blizzard and snowstorms and everything else! And if we tell him about the blizzard two years ago, he would feel horrible over that as well.

"Jack didn't have anyone to teach him how to use his powers back then, no one to tell him when to stop. The guardians _ignored _him for the first three hundred years of his existence! But now they are helping him, now he has a family. One who can watch out for him, teach him how to control his powers better; someone to say "Stop"."

Jamie crossed his arms, but guilt was starting to make its way into his mind. "Then you admit he was acting childish?" He was grabbing at scraps now, trying to win the argument.

"No! Ugh, Jamie that is not the point!" Marie huffed before calming herself. "What I am saying is that Jack is _trying. _He is growing up; he is learning from his actions and from others' instructions." Marie turned away from her husband, closing her eyes and sighing.

"Jack is your friend, Jamie. It's about time you start acting like it."

* * *

**This chapter is a little longer than the previous, but still its pretty short. I'm happy with it, but I feel as if some of the characters are out-of-character. I don't know, I did my best. Chapter three will be up next week, hopefully a little longer of a chapter. :) Read and review!  
**


	4. Ice Skating

For the rest of the duration of their walk, Jamie and Marie did not speak to one another. A feeling of awkwardness hung in between them, until Jamie sighed and decided to break it.

"I'm sorry." Jamie whispered quietly. He stopped walking and faced Marie, taking his wife's hands.

Marie simply stared at their conjoined hands. "For what?"

"Yelling at you when I knew you were right. I shouldn't have lashed out at you or Jack like that; it just sort of came out. I feel awful about it." Jamie looked down at the snow, guilt washing over his features.

Marie smiled a little. "Then why don't we go find him so you can apologize?" she suggested, looking up at her husband. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Jamie smiled, his cheeks blushing a little. The woman laughed softly.

"Come on; let's go find Jack before it gets too dark-"

A loud scream pierced through the forest, stopping Marie from continuing, seeming to recognize the voice. Soon shouts echoed off the trees; they sounded like they were coming from children. Jamie turned in the direction from which the shouts came from the loudest.

"Y-You don't think-" Marie stammered, pulling away from their embrace and tugging on her husband's sleeve.

Jamie took her hand before glancing at her. "There's only one way to find out. Come on, we'd better hurry!"

* * *

Nicholas POV

After we had gathered a group of our friends -Martin, Hailey, and Lynn, Aiden, and Zach, Annie, and Justin- we started heading into the forest.

"Liz, are you sure this is safe?" I called out to my little sister. We had been walling through the woods for forty minutes now, and I hadn't recognized any of the landmarks we passed. The sky had grown dark, and I could hear Jackson shivering. I had a bad feeling about going out to the lake.

Lizzy was farther ahead, scouting out the trail for the lake with Martin and Hailey. She turned and smiled back at me.

"Of course it is! When have I ever led you wrong, big brother?"

_Too many times to count. _I muttered in my thoughts. I heard Annie whispering something to Justin behind me.

"I bet he's scared! Everyone knows these woods are haunted in the winter."

Justin snickered. "Yeah, he's probably worried 'bout "The Spirit of the lake" that guards this forest. I heard the spirit once drowned someone back in the old colonial days."

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something when I felt Jackson fun up and hug me by the waist. His teeth were chattering and his nose was running, but his eyes said the most. I looked down at him.

"What's wrong, Jackson? Are you cold?"

He shook his head a little before stopping and nodding. "But that's not what I wanted to ask you."

"What'd you want to ask then?"

"That they're lying. They are, right?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Who, Justin and Annie?" My little brother nodded and I smiled a little. I ruffled his hair with my gloved hand.

"Yeah, they're bluffing. There aren't any spirits in these woods that are gonna get you."

Jackson smiled. "'Cept Jack Frost, but he's here to protect us."

I nodded. "Yep." I heard Annie and Justin snicker, and Aiden walked up to Jackson and I, laughing.

"You guys believe in Jack Frost? Ha! The guy is a myth; he ain't real!"

I guessed Lizzy must have overheard him; a snowball flew directly into the side of Aiden's head as she came running towards us.

"He is real! Our mom and dad have met him!" she announced.

"Pssh, yeah right. They're lying." Annie gawked, rolling her eyes.

"No they're not. My parents have talked about him; my mom says she's seen him too!" Zack noted.

Lynn smiles a little. "Yeah, my dad talks about Jack Frost a lot too. He says he is a Guardian…?"

"Guardian of what?" Justin asked, semi-interested.

"Jack Frost is one of the guardians of childhood!" Jackson states proudly with a smile. Aiden raised his eyebrow.

"Who are the other guardians then?"

"The other guardians are North or Santa Claus, Bunnymund or as we know him the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy Toothiana, the Sandman, and the Man in the Moon." I listed off their names, a little shocked as they came to me so easily. Memories of bedtime stories flooded back into my mind; Mom would always read us them whenever we were scared or had been good. Dad talked about Jack Frost the most, and I felt as if I had met him myself once, but I wasn't sure. The memory was fuzzy, and I couldn't tell if had been a dream or reality.

"Santa? The Easter Bunny? The Tooth Fairy? Now I know you guys are all a bunch of-" Aiden started but was interrupted by a snowball from Martin. We looked to where he and Hailey were standing farther ahead, waving their arms towards us.

"Hey guys, we're here!"

Dropping the conversation instantly, we all ran forward, quickly catching up to them and ran out to a clearing. We found ourselves facing the big, frozen lake. Lizzy, Annie, and Lynn cheered while the boys and I raced to the edge of the ice. The girls quickly joined us, except for Hailey who stood further back with Jackson.

"Last one on is a rotten egg!" Zach shouted before sprinting out onto the ice. I held my breath, expecting the ice to crack.

It didn't, and soon we all had raced onto the frozen lake. Slipping and sliding, laughter quickly echoed around the clearing. Hailey soon joined us and left Jackson alone at the edge of the lake. He looked at it cautiously before training his eyes on me.

"Nicholas, are you sure this is safe?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little. "We're all out here on it, aren't we?"

He seemed to take that as a yes and carefully placed his right foot on the ice. Slowly, he put pressure on it and transferred his left foot onto the cold surface. I saw a smile make its way onto his face, and he started to slide around, putting his arms out horizontally to keep balance as he skated away. I heard him start to laugh a little. I smiled before skating away myself, chuckling when I saw Justin and Annie fall, losing their footing.

We started to come up with games for us to play on the ice; racing each other from the edge of the lake up against the rocks to the other side multiple times, seeing how many turns we could do in a row. Each time someone fell I could see tiny little cracks beginning to form. However, I didn't pay them much attention, they were tiny and wouldn't cause any danger, or so I thought.

Giggling and laughter echoed all around us. It began to snow, the clouds covering the moon above our heads, and the ice became all the more slippery. Slipping and sliding, we quickly lost track of what time it was. Eventually, the snow stopped, the clouds moving on. I stopped skating to catch my breath, as I had just raced the other boys; I'd gotten second place. Once I could breathe without coughing, I looked up to the now night sky, bright with the shine of the moon and stars. Realizing how far up the moon had already risen, I gulped.

"Hey Liz?" I yelled out to my sister nervously.

Lizzy stopped twirling in circles, nearly losing her balance before responding to my question. "Yeah?"

"What time did Mom say to be home by?"

She looked up at the sky, her eyes widening as she realized what I was getting at.

"Uh, she wanted us home by seven…" She put her head in her hands. "We're so dead!"

I rolled my eyes a little. "You mean _you're _dead. This was your idea!"

Lizzy put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Hey! You could've been the older sibling, put your foot down and told me no!"

The area around us seemed to darken, but I didn't care at the moment. I moved towards Lizzy, ready to argue. "Don't try and blame this on me!"

She came forward to meet me, already with a look of annoyance on her face. The others simply watched us in amusement, except for Hailey and Jackson; who were on the other side of the lake, hands linked and spinning in circles. I rolled my eyes at my sister and crossed my arms.

"You get to tell Mom and Dad why we're late." I turned around, looking over at Jackson and Hailey. "Hey!" I shouted. They stopped spinning, struggling to keep their balance before looking at me. "Come on you two, time to go!" Hailey nodded and turned to Jackson, grabbing his hand and they started to make their way back over to us.

"Hey, we weren't done talking. You get to tell Mom and Dad! You're older!" Lizzy stuck her tongue out at me and I opened my mouth to retort back when Justin slammed into me, smirking as I fell onto my side.

"Come on you brats, why does it matter if you're late or not? Do the little babies need to get home?"

Lizzy shoved him. "Don't call us brats, or babies! You didn't need to push my brother!"

Justin pushed her in response, causing her to fall onto her back. I got up, hands clenched in fists as anger consumed me.

"Hey! Leave my sister alone!" I ran forward and slammed into Justin, causing us both to fall to the ground. Justin then tried to punch me, but I moved out of the way and his hand hit the ice, causing a series of breaks to stretch out across the ice. Lizzy saw me and tried to get up, but lost her footing and slipped. Annie snickered, and Lizzy then reached out to grab her ankles before pulling the older girl down next to her. I looked up and saw them wrestling, tugging at each other's hair. Hailey had let go of Jackson's hand, racing over to Lynn in fear. Jackson stopped, watching the fighting from a distance.

I started to count the cracks in the ice that had appeared during our skating games, and now from the fighting. The number scared me.

It felt like it was getting colder, and darker. "G-Guys…"

Zach was now going at Justin, and tackled him onto the ground. I could see cracks forming around the impact spot. Fear started to creep into my heart, and I tried to get up only to be knocked back down by the feet of Aiden and Martin, who were chasing each other around the ice. Jackson simply stood over by the rocks, watching in confusion. Lynn and Hailey stood behind me, shocked by what was happening. I continued to hear and see small cracks forming in the ice, more and more with each impact.

Shadows were creeping across the lake now, highlighting all of the cracks in the ice. "Guys!" I tried to get everyone's attention, terror beginning to latch itself onto me.

No one listened to me, and I saw both groups of boys slam into the ice, hard.

_CRACK._

Everyone froze. A large split formed in the middle of the lake, stretching all the way back to where Jackson stood. He screamed, stumbling back from the crack, only causing it to worsen.

_No… no, this can't be happening! _I felt my heart stop as more cracks started to branch off from the large one. Images of the car crash from two years ago flooded my mind, and I felt myself starting to panic. Katelyn's crying rattled in my brain, and my eyes began to tear up. I wiped them away harshly, and shouted out to my little brother.

"Jackson!" He turned to me, fear written all over his face.

I inhaled deeply before continuing. "Don't move! Just stay calm! I'll… I'll uh, come get you!" He nodded, and I think I could hear him starting to cry.

I turned around slowly to face the others, being careful not to shift my weight at all. "Guys," They all turned to me. "Slowly, crawl on your hands and knees back to the shore. Be very careful! Slide along the ice, don't lift up off the ground!"

Thankfully, they listened to me and did as I said, heading back to the shoreline. I turned back to Jackson a little too fast and my hand slipped, causing me to fall onto my stomach. The vibration didn't go unnoticed; the ice cracked again, causing the ice to split completely. Jackson lost his balance and fell onto the ice. I got back onto my hands and looked over at him. He remained one his hands and knees, frozen in terror. He shut his eyes tightly and began to shake with sobs.

"Nicholas!" He screeched. "Nicholas help me!"


	5. Shadows at the Lake

Marie and I raced across the forest, heading for the lake. I had guessed that a group of kids had decided to be idiotic and go skating on its frozen surface. I couldn't help it; I thought of the story Jack told me about his death and becoming Jack Frost after he fell through the ice, drowning in the lake. I shuddered, pushing the thought to the back of my mind; no one was going to drown tonight. Maybe it's just some kids playing near the lake, pulling pranks on each other. In the dark. At night. I shook my head; kids were definitely out on the lake.

We burst through the foliage around the lake, and I stood frozen.

In the middle of the lake was Jackson, down on his hands and knees crying out for help. Cracks in the ice surrounded him, and I could just barely hear them continuing to split. Soon I noticed the other kids making their way to the shoreline, crawling along the ice slowly. I looked among them, spotting Lizzy, but soon panicking when realizing Nicholas was not with her. I looked back to Jackson, and now saw Nicholas crawling towards his little brother. I heard Marie hold back a sob.

"Jackson! Nicholas! No!" She rushed forward, overcoming the first shock and ran down to the edge of the lake. I followed her and quickly got down on my knees, reaching out to the children moving towards us. Once they were within arms-reach, I grabbed them and pulled them to the shore. Marie then checked each one of them over for any injury. They were all either sniffling or crying or apologizing; Marie simply shushed them and told them to wait back by the tree line. Lizzy stood next to her mother, tears running down her face.

"I-It's all my fault! It was my idea to go skating! I'm so sorry Mom! I-I thought it was safe a-and..."

Marie crouched down to her, wiping the tears away and gently shushing her. She wrapped her arms around Lizzy, and Lizzy quickly returned the act, crying once again into her coat.

"Shh... it's okay. Now isn't the time to discuss that. What matters right now is helping your brothers. I need you to do something for me, can you do that?"

Lizzy nodded.

"Can you be a brave little girl for me, and wait back with your friends?" I could hear Marie's voice breaking, trying to hold back her own tears. I looked back at her and saw her eyes watering.

Lizzy nodded again, and Marie pulled away to face me while Lizzy walked back to the other kids.

"What should we do, Jamie? I could go get help, but who knows how soon anyone would get here."

I swallowed slowly, looking around for anything that could help while trying to figure out what to do. It was then I noticed the shadows, _moving slowly into the cracks of the ice. _Confused, I leaned in, trying to get a closer look. The shadows then swirled together, rose up, and snapped at me; I jumped back.

"What the...? How-?" I stopped myself, trying to figure out was going on. I looked up at the sky, and clouds were now covering up the moon, making it even harder to see over by Nicholas and Jackson. Darkness surrounded us, almost unnaturally, and the shadows in the ice seemed to be getting bigger. I could hear the children behind me sniffling and shivering; they needed to get inside. It was much too late for them to be out. I turned back to the lake; Nicholas was now looking at me, same with Jackson, waiting for instruction. I stood up slowly, breathing deeply before turning to Marie.

"Marie, I want you to take the kids back into town; take them home and let their parents know what happened. Afterwards, call for help and come back. I'm going to stay here and try to help Nicholas and Jackson."

Marie nodded and quickly turned around and ran back up the other children, gathering them together and heading into the woods. Lizzy ran back down to me. I looked at her.

"Elizabeth, go with your mother. Please."

She shook her head. She had a determined look in her watery eyes. "I want to stay and help! I-It's my fault they're stuck out there anyway..."

It was clear to me by the look on her face that she wasn't going to leave. I sighed softly before nodding and motioning her over to me. I looked around again, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach. Something didn't feel right. I looked at the cracks again, with the shadows swirling inside them. That's when I realized they were widening the cracks; they weren't normal shadows.

Lizzy pulled on my sleeves, bringing me out of my thoughts. She was pointing at something, something that was moving in the shadows on the other side of the lake. Nicholas followed her eye sight, and I saw fear freeze him.

"D-Dad... wh-what's that?" Lizzy whispered. The shadows seemed to be collecting together, swirling around, and the beginnings of a figure started to form. I gently moved Lizzy behind me, the pieces starting to fit together. Terror gripped me as it dawned on me. Memories from that Easter so long ago came rushing back. I whispered the name I hadn't spoken in years.

"Pitch... The Nightmare King..."

It appeared as if the shadow heard me, and they began to swirl together faster, the figure becoming more distinct. I could now see an eerie pair of glowing, yellow eyes. Maniacal laughter filled the air, and shadows engulfed the clearing, total darkness falling over us. I wrapped my arms around Lizzy, and prayed that Nicholas and Jackson would be still be on the lake.

When the shadows finally faded, I quickly looked to the lake. Relief filled me for a moment when I saw Jackson still down on all fours on the lake. But relief soon turned to panic when I realized both Nicholas and Pitch had disappeared. I whipped around, looking all over the clearing. I yelled out frantically.

"Nicholas! Nicholas can you hear me?" I heard Jackson begin to cry again, frozen in fear.

"Dad! Dad help me! I'm scared!"

Lizzy now had her arms wrapped around my waist, hiding her face in my coat. She was shaking. I wrapped one of my arms around her and looked out at Jackson. I called out to him.

"It's okay, Jackson! I'm right here-" I was cut off as a strong gust of wind blew past us. The shadows rose up and gathered above Jackson and the lake, forming into a cloud. Pitch soon reformed within the cloud of nightmare sand, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Nicholas clutched in the boogeyman's arms; he was kicking his legs out and pushing away from the shadow man's grip, but to no avail. Pitch was chuckling.

"Why hello, Jamie. It has been a long time, hasn't it?" Pitch said calmly. "You've grown, graduated. Gotten a job, gotten married... had _four _lovely children."

I clenched my fists; so he knew about Katelyn.

"Oh of course I know about her. Even at her age, children can indeed have nightmares." Pitch finished with a smile, seeming to have read my mind.

I wanted to strangle him. But I couldn't, not with Nicholas in his grip. It seems Pitch knew this as well, smirking down at me.

"I'll give you a choice, Jamie; Lose your oldest," He grinned, showing me Nicholas still in his grasp, who was now hanging limply in his grip, eyes clenched shut. Pitch then motioned down towards Jackson.

"Or your youngest."

I stood shocked, unsure of what to say or do. There was no way I could choose between my two sons; I couldn't ever do that with any child! I looked up and glared at the shadow man.

"I'm not going to choose, Pitch!"

He frowned down at me, disappointed at my response. But only briefly, for he soon grinned again.

"Fair enough; I'll choose for you then!"

My eyes widened as Pitch turned and threw Nicholas down towards me. Lizzy gasped and let go of my leg while I reached up to catch him. A sudden gentle gust of wind slowed his fall, and he landed in my arms softly. His eyes were still closed, and he was shaking. But as as soon as I was sure he was secure in my arms, I looked back to the lake. Lizzy screamed, startling Nicholas awake. He pointed towards the lake and shouted.

"Jackson!"

I whipped my head towards the lake, eyes wide as I saw the shadows surrounding my youngest son. I wanted to call out, to scream to him, but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Nicholas buried his face in my chest, and I felt Lizzy wrap her arms around me again, crying. But I didn't allow myself to look away. I stood there helpless with two of my children clinging to me, waiting for my youngest child to be engulfed in shadows once again, not to reappear.

But he never did.


	6. Confrontation

A streak of white, blue, and brown rushed by us, winding blowing the snow around in a frenzy. Nicholas, Lizzy, and I all looked up, and what I saw brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Up above us floated none other than Jack Frost, and wrapped tightly in his arms was Jackson, whose eyes were clenched shut and shaking, but safe. Jack smiled down at me shyly.

"Sorry for cutting that so close!" Jack joked. I couldn't help but laugh, shaking the shock from my system.

"Hey, you made it in time didn't you?"

Jackson opened his eyes and looked up at who was holding him in awe.

"Jack Frost?" I could hear my son whisper.

Jack smiled in his usual manner. "The one and only." He replied before lowering down the ground and landing next to me. Jackson was still clinging to him, no longer shaking but smiling up at Jack. Lizzy looked up at Jack.

"Wow! You are real! I never doubted it, but wow! This is so cool!"

Jack grinned and opened his mouth to respond when darkness began to surround us once again. The shadows reached out towards us, and we looked up at the swirling mass of nightmare sand that had gathered around Pitch. The shadow man was frowning coldly. Jack quickly pried Jackson off him and handed him to Lizzy. He lifted off the ground and glared angrily at Pitch.

The Nightmare King looked at him. "Hello again, Jack. I see you've recovered since our last encounter." I thought I saw Jack flinch and back away slightly.

"Do you still have those lovely scars?"

It began to snow lightly, the temperature dropping. I watched from the ground curiously, trying to figure out what that meant. Jack had been attacked by Pitch? When? My gaze dropped, feeling guilt for not knowing.

Pitch chuckled. "No need to answer, boy. I know they're there."

Jack shook his head, trying to calm himself. "What do you want, Pitch?"

The Nightmare King chuckled again. "Isn't it obvious? I thought you were smarter than that, Jack. You haven't put the pieces together yet? Tsk tsk, not very Guardian-like."

Jack simply looked at Pitch, confused. But things were coming together in my head. I started to think aloud.

"The blizzard two years ago, the fight between Jack and I, Nicholas and Jackson almost drowning..." _And that new rumor of the "spirit or the lake_ _or whatever that was going throughout the neighborhood._ I added in my head. Everything was starting to make sense now. Thinking back, during all of those events, something felt off; unnatural.

_Pitch must have been behind it. All of it. He..._ I looked up at the two immortals, having figured it out. Both were watching me, the Nightmare King keenly listening.

"You've... you've been trying to get me, my family, this whole town to stop believing in Jack Frost. This place, this is his home. And my family, we're like his own...You want him to have no believers like before, to have him be weakened... vulnerable. You want to try and manipulate him."

Jack looked down at me, coming to the same realization himself, it dawning on him what the nightmare king really wished to do to him. I looked back to him; Pitch was smiling.

"Ah, you are smart. But, that is not my end game."

I gulped, hesitating to continue. "You... you either want him to join your side, or you...," I couldn't bring myself to say it. "You want him to disappear, for good."

The Nightmare King grinned and looked at Jack. The immortal spirit was looking down at us, eyebrows clenched together angrily as he looked back at Pitch. He seemed furious, and he still didn't know about what happened back in the blizzard.

"Your old friend here is smart, Jack."

The winter spirit simply lifted his staff into a fighting position, pointing the curve towards the shadow man. Setting Nicholas down, I took Jackson from Lizzy's arms and slowly pushed my children back, putting distance between us and the spirits. Tension filled the air, and I could tell it was about to snap. Pitch looked down at us, smiling evilly.

"Oh look, your friends are afraid of us, Jack. Afraid of you."

Jack's head snapped over to us, and I saw his anger flicker as he started to feel guilty. I held eye contact with him.

"We're not afraid of you, Jack. Don't listen to him; he's just trying to get you to lose focus!"

The immortal teen stared at me, and I could see his expression turn from anger to confusion. I noticed the dark sand swirling around the two spirits, most centering around Jack. Pitch had to be influencing, or trying to influence Jack's thoughts. Worry crept up inside of me. Why wasn't Jack attacking Pitch?

The dark figure was simply standing in the swirling mass of sand, watching Jack as he struggled to believe in what I said. I heard Pitch talking quietly in a seductive tone.

"He's lying, Jack. They don't trust you anymore."

I saw Jack cover his ears, his head lowered as he tried to block out with the nightmare king was saying.

"You're lying… why wouldn't they trust me?"

Pitch grinned. "Because you killed one of them merely two years ago."

Jack's head shot up; shocked. I saw his shoulders sag, and he started to tremble.

The look on Pitch's face was one of satisfaction. "Oh, did you not know that? You do remember that blizzard you caused two years ago, hmm?"

I noticed Jack tighten his grip on his staff and look away from the shadow man. His eyes met with mine, and I couldn't look away.

"Is… is that true?" I nearly missed his whisper; his voice was barely audible.

Sighing, I nodded. He deserved to know the truth. Pain, anger, and guilt all flashed across Jack's face, and temperature dropped at least five degrees.

"How… how old were they?"

I lowered my head, no longer able to hold eye contact as I felt tears start to form. "She… she was two years old."

It started snowing. I saw Jack starting to fade out, the dark sand swirling around him and Pitch chuckled.

"See, Jack? All you do is cause _harm _to those you care about. They don't want you around. Look at you, you killed a _child. _A child you were supposed to _protect."_

The sand was now absorbing into Jack_, _and I started to panic. The sky around us seemed to get even darker, and Pitch's eyes glowed menacingly as the snow slowly stopped with the wind calming down. I realized what was happening instantly; I straightened up and yelled to Jack.

"Jack! Don't listen to him! It wasn't your fault! You couldn't have known!"

Jack's head turned towards me, but his gaze seemed distant. I clenched my firsts, glaring at Pitch for a moment before refocusing on my friend.

"It was not your fault! It was Pitch! He knew about her, and he made you cause that blizzard! It wasn't your fault, Jack!"

Pitch now had his attention turned towards me, and the shadows were creeping towards the kids and I.

Looking up again, I saw that Jack was clutching his head, eyes shut tight as the wind picked up again. Pitch was trying to get control of him, and he was winning.

I became aware of Lizzy and Nicholas trembling behind me, Jackson shivering in my arms. The shadows were only mere feet away now; I needed to get them home, but I couldn't just leave Jack, not in this state.

I looked up at Pitch in hatred. This is all his doing, and for what? Revenge for us beating him? I thought he had already attempted that, or that's what it sounded like.

"Pitch! What can you possibly gain out of this?" I shouted, "Just making Jack disappear won't make you suddenly more powerful! Why are you doing this?!"

I could literally feel the Nightmare King's eyes glaring into my skull. "Why, you ask?" his voice rang out, calm but powerful. "Why, it's because you and him were the only two things standing in between my success. If hadn't been for you, holding on to belief, and for him, for making you believe, well, the world would be a very different place now, wouldn't it?

"I had a simple, dream, you can say, Jamie Bennett. One that was grand and it was so close, ever so close."

Suddenly, Pitch had appeared next to me, and he leaned down to my ear, and whispered just loud enough for me to hear,

"Why, wouldn't you go after what kept you from your dreams? Everyone who told you that you couldn't do it, that you'd never succeed; they eventually winning?

"Tell me Jamie, wouldn't you do just as I am now?"


End file.
